Daydream Believer
"Kenny seems to be tuned out most of the time. His only interests seem to be drawing, recess and Star Wars."
So read the teacher’s note on Ken’s third grade report card. Proof, perhaps, that at an early age an unconventional spirit of creativity was already brewing. Through the years this spirit has pushed him down curious paths of adventure, discovery, and entrepreneurship – and is the muse that inspires his life and art.
Through this lens Ken's work explores the romanticized folklore of America's heritage via a pastiche of pop culture ephemera paired with contemporary design that is at times heretical, at others reverent, and always thought-provoking. Evocative montages of Golden Age Americana – comic books, pulp novels, advertising, vintage photos, and bold iconography – imbue each work with metaphor and whimsy. Alluring layers of color, shape, typography, illustration, and photography create dynamic visual narratives – at once both warmly nostalgic and compellingly fresh – that chronicle America’s evolving relationship with culture, our history and national mythology.
American Made
Originally hailing from Detroit, Ken has called the Phoenix area home since 1977. He currently lives in Cave Creek, Arizona with his wife and son, and their dog, Champ.
Growing up on a steady diet of comic books, Saturday morning cartoons, rock n' roll, TV, and film – in an America before the internet and mobile technology – meant playing cowboys and Indians, skateboarding, collecting baseball cards and staying out well past dark. Classic American westerns, Cold War-era sci-fi, and Japanese manga offered iconic archetypes and themes with an eclectic visual palette. Early heroes like the Lone Ranger and Han Solo opened windows to worlds of fantasy from "those thrilling days of yesteryear" to galaxies far, far away.
In the real world, family road trips criss-crossing the country showcased the nation's history and majesty. Each mile imbued the mystique of the great American highway pulsing with the promise and possibility of new frontiers. By 1977 that highway had led west to Phoenix, a vivid intersection of American, Mexican, and Native culture, alive with new colors, flavors, sights and sounds.
These influences and experiences – and many more – laid the foundation that continues to ignite the imagination inspiring Ken's work.
Eventually, his love of pop culture, art and storytelling would lead him to study graphic design and branding, skills that give unique shape to the visual language of his imagination. Ken is a graduate of Arizona State University, and a Co-founding Partner and Creative Director of Nocturnal Branding Studio, an award-winning, Phoenix-based brand design agency launched in 2003. He is also a sought after writer/contributor and speaker.
Learn more about Nocturnal at www.nocturnaldesign.com
Process
Ken's process is driven by both his background in fine art and his training in graphic design. Works are a mixed media collage of printed paper ephemera, original hand-drawn elements, and compositions designed on the computer, all layered onto pine board. Sometimes, found objects are applied to add depth and a more sculptural feel. Images are manipulated digitally and later with paint, pencil, and marker, as well as with scratch and sanding techniques. Layers of various finishes are applied, sanded and reapplied until the desired patina is achieved.
